a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for preparing starting materials in the form of slurry by dissolving various starting materials to be used in the production of medicaments, etc. into a dissolving medium such as additives. It is also concerned with an apparatus for adjusting such starting materials.
b) Description of Prior Arts
In the conventional technique, the apparatus for adjusting the starting materials, by which various materials for use as the starting material of a desired product is dissolved into a dissolving medium and well mixed by agitation, is of such a construction that, as shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawing with this application, a plurality of blending tanks 1, 1, . . . are provided in juxtaposition, each tank having a material charging port 10 therein and being equipped with an agitator 11 inside it; and, apart from this, a large-sized adjusting tank 2 having a material feeding port 20 and being equipped with an agitator 21 inside thereof is provided. The operational functions of this material adjusting apparatus are as follows: that is to say, when those various starting materials are adjusted into slurry of a predetermined composition, such various materials are weighed for each component material by use of a separately provided weighing instrument, and each of these materials as weighed is charged into each of the plurality of material blending tanks 1, 1, . . . which are juxtaposed each other; subsequently, a solvent adapted to each individual material is charged, in its predetermined quantity, into the material blending tank 1, in which the material corresponding to such solvent has been charged; as soon as these materials and solvents are completed their charging, each of the agitators 11, 11, . . . installed in each of the blending tanks 1, 1, . . . is driven by actuating a motor 12, 12, . . . , and, while dissolving the material into the solvent, the material is well mixed into the solvent, thereby perfectly dissolving the material into the solvent; then, a discharge port 13 in each of the blending tanks 1, 1, . . . is opened to take out the mixture solution which is charged into the feeding port 20 of the material adjusting tank 20, with further addition of a solvent or distilled water in its predetermined quantity; in this state, the agitator 21 installed within the material adjusting tank 2 is driven by actuation of the motor 22 to proceed with agitating and mixing of the material solution and the solvent to adjust the mixture solution into the intended slurry; and that, as the final operational step, a discharge port 23 of the material adjusting tank 2 is opened to pump up the slurry by means of the pump P by communicatively connecting the intake side of the pump P to its discharge port, followed by guiding the slurry to a predetermined location through a pipeline 24, the end of which is communicatively connected to the outlet side of the pump P.
The above-described conventional expedient possesses problems such that, when the starting material and the solvent, each of which is weighed to its predetermined quantity and has been charged in each blending tank 1, are to be agitated and dissolved by means of the agitator 11 installed in each blending tank 1, considerable time is taken until the entire starting material charged into the blending tank attains a state of its being completely dissolved into the solvent as added, because, in most cases, a part of the material as charged remains undissolved in the blending tank.
Moreover, there is an additional problem such that, upon completion of dissolving and blending of the starting material, when a different starting material is to be dissolved in the same blending tank, much time is still needed for perfectly removing the starting material and the mixture solution adhered onto the agitating blades of the agitator 11.
The conventional apparatus has further problem such that much time is taken until homogeneous slurry is obtained as a whole, in the step of adjusting various sorts of solutions in the material adjusting tank 2 by fluidizing them through agitation by means of the agitator 21, because the flow of the material solutions, generated in the material adjusting tank 2 by the agitator 21 in a giratory manner therewithin, brings about a portion having a low flow rate at a position closer to the inner wall surface of the material adjusting tank 2 as well as the center position of the agitator 21. Furthermore, when the interior of the material adjusting tank is to be washed for adjusting the subsequent liquid materials into the slurry, much time is also taken to cleanly wash the peripheral surface of the agitator 21 with its external surface assuming a complex shape, which brings about another problem.
Moreover, there is a problem of increased cost for the installation due to equipment of the agitators 11, 11, . . . , and 21 in each of a plurality of material blending tanks 1, 1, . . . and the material adjusting tank 2, and incorporation of driving means such as motors 12, 12, . . . , and 22 for actuating such material blending tanks and material adjusting tank.
There still exist a problem such that, when the starting materials are charged into the material blending tank 1 and the material adjusting tank 2 through their charging port 10 and feeding port 20, respectively, the materials tend to scatter around the exterior of the tanks or to stick onto the wall surface of the tanks.
The present invention has been made with a view to solving the above-described various points of problems inherent in the conventional material adjusting apparatus, and aims at providing a novel expedient which is capable of perfectly dissolving the starting materials into solvent, and of carrying out the homogeneous slurry forming operations in a short period of time, without use of an agitator which is expensive in installation cost and troublesome in its cleaning operation.
According to the present invention, in one aspect thereof, there is provided a method for adjusting starting materials to prepare the starting materials in the form of a slurry by dissolution of such starting materials into a solvent, which comprises steps of: charging predetermined quantities of starting materials into an inner cavity of a material blending tank 1 which is constructed in a pressure-resistant and tightly closed version, followed by hermetically sealing the same; filling, in advance, a predetermined quantity of solvent in a large-sized material adjusting tank 2; pumping out said solvent from the bottom part of said material adjusting tank 2 by means of a pump P, and feeding said solvent into the inner cavity of said material blending tank 1 from the bottom part thereof by means of said pump P; stopping operation of said pump P as soon as the air within said material blending tank 1 becomes compressed to a high pressure level, and causing said solvent, which has been pressure-forwarded into said material blending tank 1 to flow in the reverse direction into said material adjusting tank 2 through the inner cavity of said pump P under the pressure of air compressed in said material blending tank 1; and repeating, for a plurality of number of times, the pressure-feeding of said solvent into said material blending tank 1 by the operation of the pump P, and the reverse flow of said solvent into said material adjusting tank 2 by the stoppage of said pump P.
According to the present invention, in another aspect thereof, there is provided a method for adjusting starting materials to adjust the starting materials into a slurry by dissolution of such starting materials into a solvent, which comprises steps of: charging predetermined quantities of a starting material into an inner cavity of a material blending tank 1 which is constructed in a pressure-resistant and tightly closed version, followed by hermetically sealing the same; filling, in advance, a predetermined quantity of solvent in a large-sized material adjusting tank 2; pumping out said solvent from the bottom part of said material adjusting tank 2 by means of a pump P, and feeding said solvent into the inner cavity of said material blending tank 1 from the bottom part thereof by means of said pump P; stopping operation of said pump P as soon as the air within said material blending tank 1 becomes compressed to a high pressure level, and causing said solvent, which has been pressure-forwarded into said material blending tank 1 to flow in the reverse direction into said material adjusting tank 2 through the inner cavity of said pump P under the pressure of air compressed in said material blending tank 1; repeating, for a plurality of number of times, the pressure-feeding of said solvent into said material blending tank 1 by the operation of the pump P, and the reverse flow of said solvent into said material adjusting tank 2 by the stoppage of said pump P; and, thereafter, opening a duct line d which communicatively connects the upper part of the material blending tank 1 with the material adjusting tank 2 to cause the solution composed of a solvent within said material adjusting tank 2 and the starting material dissolved in said solvent to flow by the operation of the pump P, thereby sending said solution back into said material adjusting tank 2 by way of said material adjusting tank 2, said pump P, said material blending tank 1, and said duct line d.
According to the present invention, in still another aspect thereof, there is provided a starting material adjusting apparatus for preparing the starting materials in the form of slurry, which comprises: a material blending tank 1 formed in a tightly closable vessel, and provided with a material charging port 10 which is made tightly closable; a material adjusting tank 2 formed in large-size, and provided with a feeding port 20 of solvent to be filled in the interior of said tank; and a pump P for pressure-feeding said solvent filled in the interior of said material adjusting tank 2 into said material blending tank 1, the intake side of said pump P being connected to a discharge port 2a at the bottom part of said material adjusting tank 2 through a pipeline a, while the outlet side of said pump P being connected to a discharge port 13 at the bottom part of said material blending tank 1 through a pipeline b, and said pump P being adapted to enable the solvent to pass through the inner cavity thereof, during its stoppage of operation, in the direction of from the outlet side to the intake side thereof.
According to the present invention, in further aspect thereof, there is provided a starting material adjusting apparatus for adjusting the starting materials into slurry, which comprises: a material blending tank 1 formed in a tightly closable vessel, and provided with a material charging port 10 which is made tightly closable; a material adjusting tank 2 formed in large-size, and provided with a feeding port 20 of solvent to be filled in the interior of said tank; and a pump P for pressure-feeding the solvent filled in the interior of said material adjusting tank 2 into said material blending tank 1, the intake side of said pump P being connected to a discharge port 2a at the bottom part of said material adjusting tank 2 through a pipeline a, while the outlet side of said pump P being connected to a discharge port 13 at the bottom part of said material blending tank 1 through a pipeline b, and said pump P being adapted to enable the solvent to pass through the inner cavity thereof, during its stoppage of operation, in the direction of from the outlet side to the intake side thereof, and further, the upper part of said material blending tank 1 being communicatively connected to said material adjusting tank 2 through a duct line d which is controlled for its opening and closing by an opening-and-closing valve V6.
The foregoing objects, other objects as well as specific construction and operations of the method and the apparatus for adjusting the starting materials in the form of slurry will become more apparent and understandable from the following detailed description thereof, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.